Camous takes silver at nationals

CourtesyTianna Camous looks to the referee, as she earns back points in a match against Becky Barker of Pennsylvania. Camous won four of her five matches in the Freestyle Cadet Jr. Nationals wrestling tournament held in Fargo, N.D. on July 19, just four months after reconstructive knee surgery.

After reconstructive knee surgery on March 17, doctors told Folsom High senior Tianna Camous it would be nine to 12 months before she would wrestle again.
Camous recovered much quicker than anyone imagined, however, as she placed second in the Freestyle Cadet Jr. National Tournament in Fargo, N.D., on July 19, just four months and two days after her surgery.
After wrestling her entire senior year with an injured knee, Camous had surgery to reconstruct her medial collateral and posterior cruciate ligaments using ligaments from a cadaver. When the surgery was over, Camous had a pin, three screws, a staple and a pair of buttons in her knee.
While waiting for her knee to heal, Camous continued to work out her upper body and core. Once she got off crutches, she began light workouts to strengthen the knee and improve its range of motion. Soon thereafter, she began running.
“Tianna’s never been one to let someone else set restrictions on her activities,” her dad Jerry said, “so as soon as she could, she was back with her trainer and working.”
With a spot open on the California Jr. National team, the state wrestling director called Camous to see if she would be ready to wrestle by July.
“I took a couple days to think about it,” Camous said. “Then I just thought that a position on the team wouldn’t have opened if I wasn’t supposed to go so I decided to go.”
And what about the original prognosis of not being able to wrestle for nine to 12 months?
“My recovery was moving along well and the doctor lifted any restrictions, but I think he just meant in terms of physical therapy,” Camous said. “We kind of took no restrictions a little too literally and ran with it.”
Camous surprised even herself at the tournament. She entered the tournament with the goal of winning one match and she ended up winning four before finding herself in the championship round. She won three of her first four matches by pins, earning two in the first period. In the finals, Camous was thrown by her opponent and landed on her head and couldn’t finish the match. Afterwards she was diagnosed with a concussion.
“I was surprised at how well I did,” said Camous, who placed seventh and eighth, respectively, in the same tournament the previous two years. “To be in the finals healthy would be a big surprise so I was really surprised to make it there coming off a knee injury.”
Camous is enjoying her last few weeks at home before leaving for Lindenwood University in Missouri on Aug. 15.
“I like being at home, but I’m looking forward to leaving and it should be a lot of fun,” Camous said.